First, we tallied players not by the position they actually played in college, but by the position where ESPN listed them as recruits. For instance, Auburn’s Nick Fairley was listed as an offensive lineman although he eventually won the 2010 Lombardi Award as a defensive lineman.

Second, all Texas A&M and Missouri signees counted as SEC players even though the Aggies and Tigers only joined the conference in 2012.

Third, some players counted twice, such as when quarterback Zach Mettenberger initially signed with Georgia before completing his career at LSU.

Now let’s check out the defense:

DEFENSIVE LINE

Here is one of the most impressive finding at any of these positions: Nearly one in five of the SEC’s defensive line signees (133 out of 712) hailed from Georgia.

Twelve SEC schools -- everybody but conference newcomers Texas A&M and Missouri -- signed at least one defensive lineman from the Peach State. Home-state UGA understandably led the way with 42 of those signees (including Justin Houston, Jordan Jenkins, Leonard Floyd and eventual NFL offensive lineman Clint Boling), but Auburn (13), South Carolina (13) and Vanderbilt (11) each signed more than 10.

While it did not produce the sheer numbers that Georgia did, Florida also deserves a mention. The Sunshine State is responsible for 13 percent of the defensive line signees, including standouts such as Dante Fowler Jr. (Florida), Geno Atkins (Georgia), Pernell McPhee (Mississippi State), Corey Lemonier (Auburn) and ESPN’s No. 1 overall prospect in 2015, Byron Cowart (Auburn).

Georgia 133

Florida 91

Alabama 78

Texas 76

Louisiana 59

Mississippi 50

South Carolina 36

Tennessee 33

Missouri 17

Arkansas 15

Kentucky 14

Jarvis Jones is one of several big-time defensive players to come from Georgia to the SEC in the past decade. Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

LINEBACKER

Again, Georgia has a sizable lead over the field, producing 21 percent (86 of 412) of the conference’s linebacker signees. The next-closest states, Alabama and Florida, both produced roughly 14 percent.

Between 2006 and 2016, every SEC school signed at least one linebacker from the Peach State – a collection of talent that includes players such as Jarvis Jones and Rennie Curran (Georgia), Kevin Minter and Kelvin Sheppard (LSU) and Jasper and Casper Brinkley (South Carolina).

The defensive front seven seems to be where talent is concentrated in Alabama. The state ranked third among SEC states in defensive linemen produced (78) and is second with 57 linebackers, its best showing at any position.

Florida and Georgia are neck-and-neck at defensive back, both producing roughly 17 percent of the SEC’s 563 signees at the position. Texas is just behind with 16 percent.

Every SEC school except Texas A&M dipped into Florida for DB talent, while 12 SEC programs (excluding A&M and Florida, which have plenty of secondary talent within their home-state borders) signed at least one DB from Georgia.

Players in the athlete category frequently wind up at either wide receiver or defensive back, but arguably the two most notable members of this group – Alabama’s 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry (a Florida native) and Georgia superstar Todd Gurley (from North Carolina) – developed into outstanding running backs.

Derrick Henry is one of several players classified as athletes during recruiting to become stars in the SEC. John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports

KICKER/PUNTER

Although there is a small sample size here – SEC schools signed just 83 kickers in this time period – Florida and Georgia again sit near the top of the list.

Florida is responsible for much of the star power among kickers with players such as Michael Palardy and Daniel Lincoln (Tennessee), Wes Byrum and Cody Parkey (Auburn), Caleb Sturgis (Florida) and Blair Walsh and Marshall Morgan (Georgia) all hailing from the Sunshine State.

An interesting side note: Australia churned out more signees (four) than several SEC states. LSU has signed three Australian punters (Brad Wing, Jamie Keehn and Josh Growden) and Arkansas also had one in Sam Irwin-Hill.

Additionally, Colorado made its two SEC signees count with a pair of the conference’s top recent kickers in Alabama’s J.K. Scott and Auburn’s Daniel Carlson.